🔗 Ian "The Barracuda"🔗

Daily proof of work. Yes I do TRT. Im 59 No it’s not cheating. It doesn’t got me out of bed at 0500. Never cooked a meal. Never did a single rep. It helps me recover. It restored what time took. The work was still mine. What's the excuse you're still using?

For years I was made to believe that carbs were the enemy. Not the case. Carbs aren’t the enemy. An unsustainable calorie deficit is. These four are my go to: - Potatoes - Oats - White Rice - Berries. I’m consuming about 300 grams around training and feel great. Training intensity is high. Energy and focus are improved. I’ll keep reporting results. I hope to lean out and add some mass in the next few months. Don’t skip the carbs. Especially after 50, when recovery is slower.

At 42 I thought I was seriously ill. My energy was gone. My stamina was gone. Drive, libido, the spark that used to get me off the couch. All of it running on empty. I'd been a cop and an investigator my whole life. I always lifted. Always ran. Always tried to eat fairly clean. So I figured something was seriously wrong. So I went to see my doctor expecting working really bad. The bloodwork came back. Testosterone: 200 ng/dL. My doctor was really good especially for that time period. Doctors grade testosterone against a normal band for your age. I was below even that. I did some research on this for my first book, Forged After 50. It’s not just my story. A study of 2,121 male law enforcement officers found 38% had testosterone under 300. Average age 47. A VA study of veterans over 60 found 34% had low total testosterone. Muck worse than their civilian peers. And shift workers who can't sleep run about 100 points lower than guys who can. Think about what the job does to a man. Night shifts that wreck your sleep. Adrenaline dumps, then the crash. Gas station dinners at 3am. Court on your day off. Years of carrying what you saw home with you. Stress. Stress and more stress. Your body keeps score. Low T means more belly fat. Less muscle. Less drive. Flat mood. Slower recovery. Poor sleep that makes it all worse. Then we look at the out-of-shape cop and call him lazy. He's not lazy. He's depleted. Here's what I learned. TRT is not a shortcut. It does not replace training, nutrition, sleep, or discipline. It supports a man already doing those things. I got my levels fixed in my early 40s and felt better than I had in years. Then over the next 10 years I let my diet slip. Business stress. Raising sons. Leading a family. By my early 50s my testosterone was right where it needed to be. I wasn't. The hormone was doing its job. I'd stopped doing mine. So if you work hard and are under stress. And let’s face it, what man carrying a business or a career or a family that relies on his isn’t? Get your bloodwork. Total and free testosterone, not just one number. Find a doctor who wants you performing your best, not one who just wants you inside an age average. The number that works, is the number that works for you. You’ll know it when you hit it. Don’t forget that you still need to do the work. Same if you add a GLP to help take off some of that body fat. Lift. Sleep. Eat a balanced diet. Walk. It took me about a year with my doctor to find the dose where my mind and body ran at their best. I've held it there for over 15 years. The gift isn't the pump in the gym. It's waking up clear and wanting to train. The guys who protected everyone else deserve someone looking out for them too. From my book, Forged After 50. Not medical advice. Talk to your doctor. Work. Sweat. Build.